


Spend Forever Wandering

by Evie_adams273



Category: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Albus is oblivious, Enchanted - Freeform, In a park, M/M, Scorpius has a cat, Scorpius is hot, Scorpius' smile, Song Challenge, Taylor Swift - Freeform, coffee and cake, inspired by song lyrics, kinda proof read, late to the party, met in a bar, no triggers for once, previous breakup, sunshinescorpius, this took way too long to write, very gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:00:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22668196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evie_adams273/pseuds/Evie_adams273
Summary: A week after a bad breakup, Albus goes to a bar in another attempt to make himself feel better. And, shockingly, it works.
Relationships: Scorpius Malfoy/Albus Severus Potter
Comments: 4
Kudos: 48
Collections: Scorbus Song Fics





	Spend Forever Wandering

**Author's Note:**

> Done (very late) for @SunshineScorpius 's song challenge  
> Check out her stuff - she's brilliant

Albus eyed the glass beside him. He didn’t want the amber liquid inside it, but he’d been reliably informed by several people that it would help. Personally, he wasn’t sure, but he didn’t really care if it worked or not anymore. Between that and the noise level of the music blaring through the loudspeaker, he could forget. Just about.

He had learnt a lot recently. He had learnt that, of the five-hundred songs on his phone, there were only fifty that were not about relationships. He had learnt that, of everyone who claimed that they were telling the truth, the majority of them were lying. He had learnt that people sucked. He could have sworn that he had already known that, but apparently he had forgotten.

Apparently, meeting the person he thought was the man of his dreams had made him forget that the majority of people in the world were generally crappy people. He had known, he had always known, that first relationships didn’t last. He had known that it didn’t work first time. He had walked into this relationship knowing that. But as time had drawn out, he had started to question whether there were exceptions, and then whether he and his boyfriend were the exception. And then it had all come crashing in.

Albus didn’t understand how. He didn’t understand how six years of love and life could just be wiped away by a claim that love was gone. Love couldn’t just disappear. That wasn’t how it worked. That had never been how it had worked.

Except that was exactly what had happened.

He raised the glass, sighing as he swallowed some of the bitter liquid, before coughing slightly. It was disgusting. Still, for a couple of moments, between the drink and the volume of the music, it was enough to distract him. Temporarily.

It didn’t feel like it had been a week since the breakup. A week since he had sat down to dinner after a good day at work, only to be told that his boyfriend thought they should break up.

It was stupid. All of it felt stupid.

After taking the length of time it had taken him to accept that, maybe, being in a relationship and opening up to someone was an okay thing to do, he’d had his heart broken. He had promised himself he wouldn’t have his heart broken. And now he was sat alone in a bar, having been advised to drown his sorrows in a drink he didn’t like.

He wanted to smash it. It felt like that might actually help. He’d probably be asked to leave. And he didn’t really want to pay for the glass either.

He stood up, putting the glass down and letting out a breath. Literally anything would help more than this. He could go and buy some ice cream and go home and just comfort eat in front of the TV until he felt a bit better. He didn’t have to do the shit that ‘adults’ did. He could drown his sorrows in ice cream and no one needed to know.

As he stood up and glanced around the bar once more, however, he stopped. His gaze had landed on another man, mainly due to the colour of his hair, but as Albus continued to look at him, it quickly dawned on him that this was one of the most beautiful people Albus had ever seen.

His hair was so blond it was almost white, and he was sat on his phone, laughing at something. His smile was strangely endearing and utterly adorable. His entire face seemed to smile, and he doubled over slightly as he laughed. Albus knew that watching was probably slightly creepy, but he found it hard not to.

He baulked slightly as the man looked up and locked gaze with him. Albus was about to look away and make a very quick exit when the man smiled at him and stood up. As if he wanted to talk. Albus didn’t move. If this incredibly cute man wanted to talk to him, he was all ears.

God. What was he doing? Why was he being so weird?

“Hi,” he said as the man reached him. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to watch you, I just–”

The man waved his hands to stop him, gesturing to the speakers. Albus nodded. He could barely hear anything. Having a conversation, or attempting to do so, wasn’t something that was going to work. He waited as the man pulled out his phone and scrolled through to the notes section. He started a new note, typed something, and passed it to Albus.

_Hi. I’m Scorpius._

Albus read the note and smiled at him, starting to type something back. This was a strange conversation, but it was one he wanted to have.

_I’m Albus. Sorry if you thought I was creepy. I wasn’t trying to be. Your smile is nice and you were laughing. Sorry. That’s still weird._

Scorpius laughed again as he read the response, and Albus felt somewhat obliged to look away.

_I didn’t think you were creepy. See your family saddled you with a strange name too._

_Yeah. Mentor of my dad’s or something. He just sounds like a pretentious git but here we are. Yours is a constellation, right?_

_Yes, it is. Not sure about the history of it, but I did know it at one point so I’ll brush up on it soon._

_You like history?_

_I love it. You?_

_More of a chemist, myself._

_Cool. Do you wanna head outside? It’s quite loud in here and I’m not really feeling it._

Albus nodded and Scorpius turned. Albus followed him out through the heaps of people, emerging onto the street with a sigh of relief. Scorpius appeared to have a similar reaction.

“God knows why I even go in there,” he muttered. “I hate it.”

Albus struggled to force himself to ignore how beautiful Scorpius’ voice was, and come up with an intelligible response. He sounded so light and airy, and also quite squeaky, but in a very endearing way. 

“Were you on your own?”

“Some work colleagues suggested it. I’m not great on social stuff so I said yes. Not actually sure where they are now. I’ll probably head home.”

“Same. Though I need to find some ice cream on the way.”

“Dare I ask why?”

“Comfort food. My boyfriend dumped me and it feels a little bit shit.”

Albus stopped himself speaking after that. After thinking about the ice cream as a secret thing that he needn’t tell anyone, he’d just openly admitted it. Scorpius seemed to be having that effect on him.

“Oh,” Scorpius looked at him. “Oh. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Albus shrugged. “It’s probably more on me than him, anyway. Still, that’s six years gone.”

“It’s not a waste,” Scorpius said softly. “You still loved him. Those memories of good times. They shouldn’t be tainted. You loved him then. You both changed. The changes didn’t work. You don’t have to assume that all six of those years were bad because you changed.”

Albus looked at Scorpius, frowning slightly, and then he smiled. Scorpius was right. Scorpius was entirely right. He didn’t have to think all of the memories were bad. He could still be happy with them. He didn’t have to be constantly, overwhelmingly negative. It would just take a little time and distance. It seemed strange that this man that he had met, a matter of minutes before, was now giving him genuinely decent life advice. In the tone of voice that suggested he cared. To some degree. Albus shook the thought.

“Here,” Scorpius passed him a little scrap of paper. “It’s my number. Text me.”

“I will, thank you. Are you…”

“Yeah, I’m heading off now. Spend time with my cat. It was nice to meet you.”

Albus nodded, watching Scorpius walk away as he fiddled with the piece of paper. Once Scorpius was out of sight, he glanced down at it, smiling. He liked Scorpius. Something about Scorpius, something that he couldn’t quite put his finger on, made him feel warm, feel happy.

Other people had already tried giving him a similar speech about memories, and he’d snapped at all of them. But Scorpius’ had actually gotten through to him. And it hadn’t been a speech. It had just been some advice. From a well-meaning stranger. A very cute, well-meaning stranger.

Albus didn’t buy any ice cream on the way home.

* * *

Albus waited until the next morning before texting Scorpius. He didn’t want to seem overeager. He had realised, overnight, that he probably had a very large crush on Scorpius. And he wasn’t paranoid, but he did want to get it right. He really wanted to get things entirely right.

Not that it mattered. Scorpius was probably straight. Still, he wanted to make a good impression. And not carry on staring at him from the other side of a bar.

That was something unusual about Scorpius. On the rare occasions, previously, where Albus had made eye-contact, both parties just looked away awkwardly. Scorpius had come over, started a conversation, and given him his number.

The first message was a simple one.

_Hi. It’s Albus._

The response came eight minutes later.

_Hey. How you doing? Did you get your ice cream?_

_No ~~, I didn’t want any after talking to you~~. I didn’t need it. You seem to have done a good job of cheering me up._

_I’m glad to hear that. What you up to today?_

_I’ve got a shift at the local bookshop. Then who knows? You?_

_Work, too. At the Animal History Museum. History geek and animal lover so I thought I may as well apply._

_It sounds cool. Good luck._

_You too. Talk later?_

_If you want to._

Albus put his phone down, smiling to himself. Scorpius seemed happy to talk to him, seemed interested in him. And he knew it was stupid to let himself think Scorpius was doing anything more than making casual conversation. Scorpius probably had a girlfriend. Scorpius was probably straight. And given how cute he was, there was no way he’d be single, no matter who he was attracted to.

Albus flopped back onto his bed, sighing. He needed to stop letting his thoughts run wild. Even as he dismissed the idea to himself, he kept thinking about the possibility. About dating Scorpius.

For fuck’s sake.

He had known the guy for less than a day. How the hell had this happened? He was cute, yes. He had a nice smile, yes. And he’d been kind when Albus needed it. But that didn’t warrant this. Unless that said something about Albus, about his previous relationship.

In all likelihood, what it said was that Albus was needy and Scorpius had checked on him when he had been feeling alone. Albus knew that he had an unconscious thing of instantly trusting people like this. If they gave him the space to talk without pressure. And Scorpius had.

And yet, there was still something else, something else about Scorpius that made him feel warm and bubbly and happy. He smiled. The chances were that it would come to nothing, and he and Scorpius probably wouldn’t even become friends. The chances were that Scorpius had a girlfriend and was very happy like that.

The chances were not that Scorpius was also interested in him, in any capacity. Albus couldn’t understand why, after so many years of making himself get used to the fact that most people were straight, he was now having trouble.

It was a little pathetic. He had known the guy for less than a day and he already felt too fixated or – something. Just because the guy hadn’t thought he was a creep and had actually talked to him.

Albus tried to leave it some length of time between texting Scorpius. As the next few days passed, he tried to ignore the fact that his feelings seemed to be growing stronger. After a week, he genuinely couldn’t ignore or deny them, but he tried to tell himself that he still barely knew Scorpius. Scorpius hadn’t mentioned being in a relationship, but Albus knew he would be. Or, at the very least, he wouldn’t be interested in Albus. Why would he be?

Albus had spent his entire life reminding himself that he really wasn’t special. He didn’t have any features that set him apart from anyone else. He was ordinary. He had always been ordinary. It was a miracle that he had even been in one relationship.

Even that didn’t seem to hurt as much now. Scorpius’ advice, pointing out that the loss didn’t remove from the fact that the memories could still be happy, had helped him so much more than he was able to properly articulate. Still, he tried to articulate it. He tried to let Scorpius know exactly how much he appreciated him. With every text, with every word, he tried to say a thousand more things that he was really able to.

He even found himself wandering the area where they had met, on more than one occasion, even though he knew he wouldn’t actually see the man. And he was still trying to convince himself that he wasn’t falling again.

* * *

On the ninth day after the first meeting, Albus received a text that made him smile wider than anything he had read in a long time. He was sat in the park, on his lunch break, trying to find the appetite to eat the sandwich he had made, but he just wasn’t feeling it.

When his phone buzzed, he picked it up instantly, more as an excuse to not eat than anything, but he was glad when he did.

_Hey. You free? I’ve got an extended lunch break if you’re around._

Albus texted back immediately.

_In Pittville Park – the end closer to town – away from all the screaming children. Also on lunch, so be quick._

Scorpius appeared a few minutes later, apparently having run, and Albus stood up to greet him. Scorpius smiled at him, going to hug him. Albus faltered slightly, despite the fact that he did want to hug Scorpius, and Scorpius stopped.

“Sorry,” he muttered. “Sorry, force of habit.”

“It’s fine,” Albus smiled. “How are you?”

“I – confused,” Scorpius shrugged, sitting down on the bench. “Sorry. Not the thing I should start with. How are you?”

“Don’t worry about me. You’re confused. Talk it out, if you want,” Albus sat next to him. “I’m all ears.”

Scorpius hesitated. “I thought – feelings – for people – I thought they were supposed to develop over longer than a few days.”

“Oh,” Albus forced a smile. “Girl trouble?”

“No. Boy trouble.”

Albus felt his stomach lurch. This was where things got confused. This was where he would make bad assumptions and have his world let down again. Though he understood how Scorpius was feeling.

“Well,” he smiled again, “I’ll do my best to help.”

“I met this guy,” Scorpius started slowly, “a few days ago. And it was a little strange but he was a really nice guy and I think I like him. Which is confusing because I’ve never really liked anyone like this before. Or, if I have, it’s taken ages to – make itself apparent. But with him – I just know.”

“Does he know?”

Scorpius looked him in the eyes. “I don’t know.”

“Could you ask him?”

“You tell me.”

“What?”

Scorpius smiled, biting his lip, and Albus looked away. He wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, or what Scorpius was trying to imply. He knew he was trying to imply something.

“Albus,” Scorpius reached for his hand, “I’m starting to realise, pretty quickly, I gave you my number because I was – I was hoping – hoping you might – ask me out for coffee.”

“You wanted to me to ask you on a date?” Albus’ eyes widened.

“I think so.” Silence. “Crap. I’m sorry. This isn’t what you were thinking, was it? I’m so sorry. You’re trying to get over a relationship and I do this. I’m sorry–”

“Scorpius,” Albus interrupted softly. “I like you too. I think. I just thought you would have someone else in your life already. Handsome man such as yourself.” Scorpius giggled.

“If you would like me to ask you out, then here is the request to go to a café and eat cake. Because I don’t think bars are really our thing.”

Scorpius laughed again.

**Author's Note:**

> This took way too long even though it took three sessions to write. One on Jan 1. One on Jan 15. And one on Feb 9. Basically I'm busy? I don't know.   
> Hope you enjoyed.  
> Kudos and comments appreciated  
> Thanks for reading  
> Twitter: @evieadams273


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